Monday, August 13, 2018

Certain health issues can
increase the risk of falling and these include leg weakness, mobility problems,
and balance issues. These are very common problems which many of our seniors
face as age catches up on them.

With the steep increase in water and electricity bills, homes and
organisations now need to cut down on water and electricity consumptions.

While the HDB has taken positive steps to improve the safety features in
housing estates to prevent the elderly from injury by installing hand bar grips
and non-slip tiles in toilets, there is also a dire need to ensure that seniors
do not grope in the dark while visiting the toilet at night.

In other places when lights are
not turned on at night or the early hours of the morning, such as in churches,
there is a high risk of seniors with mobility problems falling down. We must
take concreate measures to prevent this from happening.

In ‘light’ of this, I propose that a night light be installed at
bedrooms so that the moment seniors wake up at night to go to the toilet or
kitchen, he/she will not fall as visibility is clear.A night light switched on does not consume much
electricity even if the light is on most part of the night.

In malls or places where there are 24-hour services, such as hotels or
eating houses, installing such sensors saves the owners a bundle on electricity
bills

In other places such as in columbariums at churches, a sensor light should
be installed so that relatives who go there to pray will not fall down as they
grope in the dark.

I fell down twice in my church around 6.15am while praying to my late
wife and sister at the columbarium. Here the lights are only turned on at 6.30am.

The light comes on the moment someone enters and this way, electricity bills
will not rise. Praying is crucial for
all who practice a faith, but more so for those who have lost their loves ones
and trying to cope with grief. No one
should have to pray in the dark.

Automated lighting that turns on only when someone enters the room is definitely cost saving.

Wednesday, August 1, 2018

"A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to
persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles."
-Christopher Reeve -

It is most
disturbing to read the report of many of our senior citizens who are ending
their lives through suicide due to lack of support (“Number of suicides among
senior hits record high”, The Straits Times, Monday, July 30, 2018).

Besides forming
a task force to tackle depression and suicides which I proposed on my blog and
in the media much earlier, every citizen must take it upon themselves to feel
for the elderly lonely. After all, our elderly seniors were the ones who
contributed to the economic growth of Singapore during their younger days. Many
people, myself included, find it hard to believe that Singapore is a first
world country that has third world practices.

To abandon the
elderly lonely who include those who have lost their loved ones is just not
right and is not in keeping with the government’s on-going effort to building a
gracious, caring and inclusive society.

Give love, until it hurts: Let’s take lessons from
Mother Teresa

I have always
admired Mother Teresa for the love and care she had given to the less fortunate
in society and I am deeply influenced by her. To better understand the true
meaning of providing support and love to our lonely seniors, let us take
lessons from the late Mother Teresa.

In one episode
of her charity work, Mother Teresa went to visit a Hindu mother of 8 children,
all of whom who had gone without food for several days. She brought them a
small bag of rice. As soon as the mother of 8 children received the rice, she
took half the packet of rice and ran out of the house. Mother Teresa was
puzzled. When the lady return home, Mother Teresa asked her where she had gone
to with half the packet of rice.

The lady smiled
and replied that she gave the rice to a Muslim family, her neighbor, who like
her, had gone without food for days.Clearly, this Hindu lady knows how to give love – until it hurts.

Recently, I came
across some painful postings by a young pretty Filipino girl on Facebook, a
friend of mine, just 21 years old, but often depressed. She ended up living in
a park as her home has been taken away as she could not pay the 2 months’ rent.
I comforted her and advised her to value life and to go to church and pray
every day – for prayer works wonders. Then
I sent her some groceries from the few books I sold. She was so uplifted,
knowing that someone in Singapore cares for her well-being.

It is extremely
painful to go without food for days, feel abandoned and to come to the reality
of being all alone and uncared for in this world. I then searched the Facebook
to find her Mayor in Albay, Philippines, and advised her to write to him for
assistance. I continue to keep in touch with her, giving guidance and showing
care for her.

Never underestimate the undying, unconditional love
from God

I lit a blessed
candle for her that night and asked Jesus to help her. The next day, a friend
she met at the park brought her to her home to stay, and now at least she will
have a roof over her head and probably a decent meal.

Staying ‘alive’ to the realities
of suicidal depression and other mental disorders

I had proposed a
detailed report on how we can tackle suicides and depression, giving practical
and workable solutions, but it appears – real or imagined, that my proposal has
fallen on deaf ears. What a sad state of affairs!

A
monthly allowance to help our seniors cope with living expenses

Many of our
seniors who are drawn to suicide don’t have money for their daily expenses. Where
feasible, I urge the government to provide a monthly allowance of anything
between $200 to $300 to our seniors who live all alone.

Recreation is
also so important for the lonely elderly to find comfort, Surely, some outings
by church groups or government agencies can be organized to provide some
measure of support.When my wife was
alive, we were fortunate to benefit from such outings that were organized by
the Saint Vincent De Paul Society of my church. But now that Doris has died,
everything has died with her and I am left all alone to fend for myself.

Stay
connected through WIFI

Often social
media can be a useful platform for the lonely elderly to keep in touch with
friends and even find new ones. Given the push by the Singapore Government to
build a smart nation, shouldn’t WIFI be installed in HDB estates, especially
for those who live in flats all alone?

Don’t play God by legalising euthanasia, but value
life, promote love, support and understanding

The media,
because of its huge outreach must promote love, understanding and support,
bringing people from all races, ages and religions together as one big family.
It should in no way cause divisions in society and give undue attention to
those who have absolutely no value for life. Only cowards will want to support
euthanasia to get rid of seniors who lose the will to live.

I was deeply
troubled that a regular forum writer wrote about giving euthanasia options to
lonely seniors who struggle with sickness and find it difficult to secure
support. Who is he to play God? Being a born Catholic, I am deeply offended by
his letter which has been published. If suicide is a crime, then why is
euthanasia being suggested?Let us not
be a party to abetting a crime.

No religion, to
the best of my knowledge will support killing oneself.

During my 31-year-old
career in broadcasting, our journalists were so well trained and such letters or
any others causing division or gossip in society would never be published.

The late Mr Lee
Kuan Yew would come down hard on news editors who paint Singapore or her
citizens in bad light.